The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-09-15
ClODHopptR
Once More Picks Up the
Mighty Pen
And Writes Us an Interesting
Article Concerning the
Culture OF Wheat.

The most important question with
very many readers Of the News HERALD
at the present time Is whether TO use
commercial fertilizer on the wheat
ground.
Wheat IS very low in price, and of late
years the crop is very uncertain in South.
ern Ohio. Forty years ago Highland
county waE the banner wheat county of
the State. For the last fifteen years,
taken in the aggregate, wheat culture
in the county has entailed loss on the
farming community, and were 1t not for
the fact that there is no suitable crop
yet found to substitute for wheat in the
rotation Of crops by which the corn land
can be got back to clover and grass, 1t
would be economy to only raise so much
wheat as would furnish the farmers own
family with the "white loaf.''
Successful grain farming can only be
carried on, on our uplands, by the adop-
ten of judicious rotation of crops in
which clover holds prominent place
for at least one.third of the time. In
order to get the land set to clover, the
husbandman has not yet learned to dis
pense with wheat; hence as we Of ne
cessity have to sow large acreage Of
land to wheat annually, the question is
o burning one, in these hard times of
bad crops and low prices, Of how to raise
the largest amount Of wheat at the least pos.
| sible cost.
Don't think, friend, that am going to
tell how this is to be done, for do not
know, and only write on the subject to
provoke critical study OF the matter by
the interested parties, and to cause farm.
ers to make haste slowly and not to
spend great lot OF hard earned cash for
phosphate because it has become a fash.
ion to phosphate wheat land.
There is no doubt about the value of
commercial fertilizers when judiciously
applied. But there is the rub.-judicious.
ly applied means everything, as it were.
And vet who knows enough OF the sub.
ject practically to say when and where
and in what quantity to apply the differ
ent brands? / once knew an old lady
that could explain anything and do it SO
easily, but she died. There are "agri.
cultural chemists" that can tell all about
the application Of the different kinds of
commercial fertilizers, but they remind
me of the old lady that knew that "the
COW eat the grind-stone."
Let me repeat. There is no doubt
about the value of commercial. fertilizers,
but remember this: So far as we farm.
ers in this section are concerned their
application is empirical; every applica-
ton 10 an experiment; each year is a
law unto itself.
If our experience Of last year was q
law for other years, the matter would be
in fair way for solution, but it is not.
Each year is law unto itself in the use
of commercial fertilizers. Lands that
were greatly benefited last year by GER
tain brands OF artificial manures may
not respond to them at all this year.
This is the very reason why this article
is written it is to have the farmers look
sharply into the subject that is costing
them many millions annually to see
whether they are getting their moneys
worth.
1t is not my object to oppose or dis
courage their use, but to look sharply to
the reasons for using, and see that it is
not simply from "a fashion of phosphat-
ing" Strange as it may seem, many in.
telligent farmers still think that the diff.
ferent kinds of commercial fertilizers are
only stimulants that act on land like a
gad on the tired OK, or alcohol to the
exhausted laborer. This is not 10. They
are largely conposed Of plant food, when
honestly made, and supply in concen-
trated form the things that the grain
and grass need and are supposed lacking
in the soil.
Plants, in order to grow, have to have
food just as much - animals, and when
this food is lacking in the soil We try to
supply it by putting ON manure, which
is good only ss 1t supplies plant food to
the growing crops.
The greatest advantage that it is in the
power of commercial fertilizers to do for
wheat is by using some variety that con.
tains large amount of plant food in a
form just ready to be appropriated by
the young wheat plants, and in this way
give them big start in very short
time. If wheat is sowed early there d
great danger from drouth and the "Hes
sian fy;" if sowed late, the danger ID
that the young wheat plants will be too
weak and puny to stand our Vicarioui
winters. Now, if we could devise some
sure way Of hurrying up the growth 90
that we could SOW after danger from
drouth and fly was past 20 that the wheat
plants could get strength to stand the
hard winters, then wheat culture would
become matter of reasonable certainty,
instead Of ~ now the very essence and
TYPE Of uncertainty. II ] was called up
on to select symbol Of uncertainty Il
would be the wheat plant. But let the
motto be. "Be sure Won are ripht. ther